Commissioners in Leesburg, Fla., could vote to stop a previously approved $600,000 project to add fluoride to the city’s water supply, WFTV9 reported Dec. 15.
Six notes:
1. National debate about water fluoridation reached new heights this year after the National Toxicology Program concluded in a report that higher levels of fluoride exposure are associated with lower IQ in children. However, the report has been contested by several organizations.
2. Robert Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of Health and Human Services, and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, have also spoken against the practice in recent months.
3. The city approved the water fluoridation project at the urging of dentists in June.
4. Mayor Jimmy Burry told WFTV9 that another vote was added to the commission’s next meeting agenda after a request from a commissioner who was reluctant to approve fluoridation.
5. If the commission halts the project, the city could recover several hundred thousand dollars in unspent funds, though about half of the project’s costs have already been used, WFTV9 reported.
6. City officials in Tavares, Fla., also plan to discuss ending water fluoridation during a meeting Dec. 18.
Source: Florida city could halt $600K water fluoridation project: 6 notes / Becker’s Dental + DSO Review